Supermac

This is how D.R. Thorpe tells the story, eloquently and elegantly, as he does everything in this exemplary biography, which complements if it does not entirely supplant Alistair Horne’s two-volume official Life; Horne is better on the military, Thorpe on the political and personal. At every juncture Thorpe presents the evidence in a scrupulous and equable style

Ferdinand Mount, London Review of Books

A beautifully judged political biography, written with great flair and insight, and surely the last word on one of out most civilised, cunning and ambiguous prime ministers.

Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Telegraph, Christmas round up

A solidly buttressed biography that parallels his earlier works... Supermac is crammed full with interesting facts, germane and diverting by turns

Peter Clarke, TLS

A spellbinding insight into the fascinating character of one of the most remarkable politicians of the 20th century.

Archie Norman, Evening Standard, Christmas round up

A spellbinding insight into the fascinating character of one of the most remarkable politicians of the twentieth century

Evening Standard

Beautifully written biography...What the book shows...is that he was almost certainly the last prime minister worthy of our history as a great power

Peregrine Worsthorne, Spectator

Bringing together 35 years of research this biography of Harold Macmillan looks at both his personal and political achievements, conflicts, and events that defined his time. From Eton to prime minister, this is a compelling read.

Charlotte Vowden, Daily Express

DR Thorpe is one of our finest historians, and this is one of his finest books: painstaking, detailed, but always readable. You come as close as you can to understanding Macmillan from these pages

Observer

Fine political biography

Anthony Howard, New Statesman, Christmas round up

Gives a wonderful sense of Macmillan's complexity and stature

Blair Worden, Spectator, Christmas round up

He is an Aston Martin DB6 kind of writer, who is very English, very stately

Anthony Seldon, The Browser

Macmillan really walks and talks his stylish yet nervy way through these pages.

Peter Hennessy, Daily Telegraph, Christmas round up

Scholarly, and thoroughly researched, Supermac should nevertheless appeal to the general reader through the accessibility of its proce and the assistance offered by placing events in historical context... Humane, benevolent, and considerable; much like its subject

Dr Martin Farr, BBC History Magazine

Superb biography...Thorpe has three qualities that make him a first-rate biographer and they are all evident here. He is a phenomenal scholar and has left almost no primary source untapped for this book. He is the master of the anecdote, in which the book abounds and which as a result makes it a joy to read...But best of all, Thorpe writes beautifully... he understands that in writing the life of a politician, it is not all about politics

Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph

Supermac has found a superbiographer

Paul Addison, Literary Review

The best biography of a post-war British Prime Minister yet written.

Vernon Bogdanor, Professor of Government at Oxford University

This humane, elegantly written, exhaustively researched biography is the best yet of Macmillan, and indeed one of the best of any postwar prime minister

David Kynaston, Guardian

Thorpe's superb biography leaves no primary source untapped, and bountiful anecdotes make this account of a truly three-dimensional character a joy to read.

Telegraph